Lunches
21 August 2018 - CoTD Bill Alexiou-Hucker
Today our Foodmaster, Bill Alexiou-Hucker, was back in the kitchen. He was assisted by one of the ‘canapé masters’, Peter Manners. Today was always going to be a bit of fun as the wines were odds and sods that had been collected in the REX wine cabinet left over from other lunches.
Canapés. Peter was responsible for the canapés today and he gave us three. In no particular order, there were wonderfully handmade pastry cones filled with a salmon mousse, home-made pate on a biscuit base and ‘elephant ears’ or palmiers baked and filled with a mushroom mixture. All three were tasty and of course there were none remaining by the time we sat down at 1 pm. Have a look at the photograph above of the work that went into making the pastry cones and the wooden cone-holder knocked up by Peter specifically for the dish.
Aperitif wine. We enjoyed a selection of seven wines ranging from Rieslings to Semillons to Chardonnays. Not everyone got a taste of every bottle of course, but it certainly is stimulated conversation and was a bit of fun.
Main Course. Bill being a first-class seafood man served us octopus. Each octopus weighed about 500 g and they were each halved so that we had a very well sized portion. The octopus had been slow cooked in white wine for about 4 hours with bay leaves and tomatoes. The octopus was served on polenta with oregano. It was full of flavour and extraordinarily tender.
The Wines. Far too many wines to list today, but they varied from average quality to very high quality. Commentary from members was obviously table-based but the Tyrrells Old Patch, Orlando St Hugo, Seppelts Benno and a Sardinian Cannanou (Grenache) were well thought of. Eclectic and enjoyed by the majority. Chilly Hargraves as winemaster of the day did a great job balancing the wine sets on each table.
Cheese and coffee. James Healey selected for us today a Maffra cloth-aged cheddar from Gippsland. The presentation of this cheese in the black cloth is stunning. See the photograph above. Maffra cheeses are well-known, as is their handmade traditional method and is arguably Australia’s best cheddar although many would argue Pyengana from Tasmania was a more interesting cheese. It was moist and slightly crumbly and was another wonderful choice by James.
Spencer Ferrier in absentia provided Yirgacheffe coffee from Sidama in Southern Ethiopia. Light to medium body it is always a pleasant coffee and works well in the French press.
In the absence of the president today, the VP Nick Reynolds closed the lunch complementing Bill on once again doing a great job.
14 August - CoTD Mark Bradford
7 August - CoTD Peter Kelso
It was a Presidential prandium, with Peter Kelso in the kitchen, assisted by Martin McMurray. Inauguration was a choice of canapes: anchovy puffs made on choux pastry with a subtle hit of anchovy (memo to chef: more next time) and a “salmon salad” with fresh salmon, spring onions and green capsicum dressed up with a splash of mayo and some paprika, served on lavosh bites. Well supported by wine master of the day Charles Hargrave’s choices of a 2007 Tyrrells Vat 1, in terrific condition showing some toasty notes, and a 2012 Pewsey Vale Riesling, surprisingly developed with a phenolic edge and not for long keeping. There was, of course, the usual Lustau sherry, this week the excellent Fino.
For the main event, Peter put Australia first by presenting ½ of the Oz flag in the form of seared kangaroo strip loins served on a bed of spiced roasted root vegetables, baby carrots, baby beets and red onion, with a piece of zucchini on the side and a yoghurt dressing. The meat, reliably handled in the kitchen by the irreplaceable Leo, was in the main suitably rare and the veg, despite murmurings from beetroot opponents, colourful and tasty on the plate. The accompanying wines both went well, a 2010 Giovanni Rosso Langhe Nebbiolo probably a better match, with fine tannins and youthful fruit, than the 2012 Fraser Gallop cabernet from Margaret River, showing good regional fruit bit a bite of firm tannins on the finish.
We stayed local with the cheese from James Healey: an aged Heidi gruyere from Victoria. Beneath a hard rind was a firm but friendly paste with great nutty flavour. It called for, and got, some big reds, In the shape of a 2010 Seppelt Benno shiraz from Bendigo giving an attractive perfume on the nose and rich soft tannins; and the Entity shiraz from ex-Penfolds winemaker John Duval, a brassy Barossa in the Penfolds style with heaps of wood and ripe fruit balanced by evident tannins.
31 July 2018 - CoTD Denis Redfern
Special thanks to Peter Kelso for this review
The Wines
Presented by former Wine Master Greg Chugg, we saw a selection of 2008 Oz cabernets, mainly from SA but with a couple of masked intruders which turned out to be from WA. In order of pouring, they were:
Wynns Black Label (Coonawarra); Bowen Estate (Coonawarra); Vasse Felix (Margaret River); Yalumba The Cigar (Eden Valley); Lindemans St George (Coonawarra) and Houghtons Gladstone (Margaret River).
Opinions were divided, although in general the 2nd bracket of 3 were preferred to the 1st. However, all agreed that it was an outstanding standard overall from a very good year.
Preceding the tasting was a bracket of equivalent quality aperitifs: a 2010 Richmond Grove Riesling from Watervale, and a Peter Lehmann Riesling from Eden Valley, also 2010. Both showing mature toast characters but both still fresh, with the Richmond Grove ahead on points. And a Lustau Manzanilla sherry maintained the standard set by the other two.
The Food
It was a welcome return to the kitchen for Denis Redfern, with some assistance on canapes from Josef Condrau. Denis started with a tasty smoked salmon pate paired with avocado (smashed of course) on toasts and some lovely little mini-quiches, bought in but none the worse for that.
His triumph came with the main course, a beef bourguignon of deceptive simplicity which was unanimously voted a perfect match for the wines. It was actually a labour of some days, with diced chuck steak marinated in pinot overnight, then browned and slow-cooked with carrots, pickling onions and mushrooms for about 12 hours, to produce tender but not stringy meat. The dish was served with a smooth and cholesterol-ridden Paris mash potato and green beans, suitably crunchy.
The cheese from James Healey was another highlight, a wonderfully sticky Epoisses washed rind number form Burgundy in France, with all the orange rind and rich nutty paste that we could want. The bread with it was also a hit, brought in par-baked and finished off warm and very crusty in the oven on the day.
Finally, Spencer Ferrier provided his own blend of coffee, a mix of Yirgacheffe and Rwandan beans with a touch of Sumatran thrown in. A barista in the making, he gave us a full and satisfying brew with enough citrus notes to give it length.
24 July - CoTD Milan from Brick Lane
Special thanks to Peter Kelso for preparing this lunch review.
Something a bit different this week, with Milan Thapaliya, the executive chef from Brick Lane, producing some authentic Indian/Nepalese food. The owners of Brick Lane run the kitchen at the REC, so it was great of them and Milan to serve us.
Canapes were some freshly fried papadoms (natch), but also a crunchy-coated pakoras made on slow-cooked onion and besan (chick pea flour) with assorted spices and coriander leaves deep fried, and some wonderful “chicken tandoori” rolls, with moist chicken, onion and spices cooked in a fried filo pastry case – a sort of Indian spring roll. To wash them down, we had a choice of Seppelts sparkling shiraz from 2010, and a Jay Tulloch Semillon from the Hunter, also 2010. Both stood up to the spice and (mild) heat of the canapes, although the sparkler was probably a better match.
The main course saw a lamb rendang-type curry of medium heat accompanied by a mild raita blend of vegetables and a finely cooked long-grain rice dressed up with sultanas and whole green cardamoms to give a burst of flavour in the mouth. Plenty of melding flavours and certainly only too hot for the wimps!
Nick Reynolds on wines had thought long and hard about the match of wine and curry, and provided us with an eclectic selection, some kindly provided by him. They were:
2017 SC Pannell Aromatica, a blend of mainly gewurtztraminer with riesling and pinot gris from the Adelaide Hills, which lived up to its name; a bit too aromatic for some, but with a soft sweetness which cut well across the complexity of the food;
2017 Helm half-dry Riesling from Canberra, made off-dry and therefore with residual sugar, but finer in palate than the first, an excellent wine in its own right;
2013 Craiglee Shiraz from Sunbury in Victoria, a cooler climate wine with a good dry but light body which matched the food well;
2004 Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet, showing typical Coonawarra nose and good fruit although starting to tire.
The four wines were all served with the food, allowing all to be drunk against the spice; although the prudent saved some of the reds for the cheese, which was preceded by a gulabjamoon, a sweet ball of milk and flour fried and served on a ceramic spoon with sugar syrup and a bit of yoghurt.
The cheese, simply served with a homemade chutney from Milan, was an Ossau Iraty, a sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region of north-west Spain, an ancient variety showing a slightly pressed firm and oily texture with a nutty almost olive-like flavour. It was especially good with the Wynns.
The coffee was a bean from Sumatra, with rich drying flavour in the moth and a refreshing hint of acidity.
17 July - CoTD Gary Linnane
Special thanks to Peter Kelso for preparing this lunch review
|
10 July 2018 - CoTD Peter Manners
Peter Manners and his experienced group of assistants provided us with a Christmas in July lunch which has apparently gained popularity throughout this city. His assistants were Bob Swinney, Neil Galbraith and Tony Scott. There is a lot of knowledge and experience in that group.
Canapés. Three canapés greeted us. We first enjoyed a seafood bisque made up of southern New Zealand crayfish and snapper. No reduction of a sauce but simple high-quality seafood cooked quickly and served quickly with a dash of hot water. Clean and beautiful.
The next two started with a chicken pate on a thin biscuit topped with capsicum. The pate was beautifully rich but there were some comments that the biscuit had started to soften under the moisture of the pate. Then came a triangular pastry beautifully browned and filled with a meat sauce.
Aperitif wine. Keith Steele’s selection of wine today began with the Denmar Chardonnay 2010 under screwcap. The wine had been divisive in the past and continued its reputation. At 8 years of age it was still in a good condition and there were some comments about the richness and suitability to taste such as pate.
Main Course. The main today was, in the Christmas spirit, roast turkey. It came with peas, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin and a light sauce which added a fragrant flavour. Some of the comments suggested that the turkey was somewhat dry but nonetheless it was flavoursome.
The Wines.
- Tamar Ridge Kayena Pinot Noir 2009 (screwcap, 13%)
- Seppelts Sparkling Shiraz 2011 (cork, 13.5%)
- Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 (cork, 14%)
- Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (cork, 14%)
Serving turkey, a sparkling Australian Shiraz was a no-brainer. Some chose to suggest it should have been served with the cheese, but we stuck with tradition. Charles “Chilly” Hargrave spoke to the Seppelts sparkling as he was the chief winemaker responsible for sparkling wine with TWE at the time. He explained the technique of sparkling red wines and the higher degree of residual sugar needed to deal with the tannins. The Pinot Noir at nine years of age was still in strapping condition showing some of the sweet southern hemisphere style but drinking very well.
Two Coonawarra Cabernets were served with the cheese, the Wynns Black Label and the Zema. The Wynns was fuller in colour than the Zema but both were midweight, clean and classic Coonawarra Cabernets. The Zema had more lifted fruit but opinions were divided around the room about the favourite.
Cheese and coffee. No one had any particular difficulty in picking the Stilton that was served today. Apparently, Stilton no longer comes from Stilton, but this particular producer comes from Nottinghamshire and had classic crumbly yet firm Stilton characteristics.
The cheese was served with Iggy’s bread sourced by James Hill and as usual was excellent.
A treat was had with Peter Manners providing tiny puddings on a white chocolate base topped with cherry. Look above for the photo.
Spencer Ferrier in absentia provided us with a Costa Rica coffee which was quite strong in flavour but very smooth and balanced.
Time was set aside to remember past President and good friend to many, Peter Madden. John Rourke provided a spirited memorial speech to Peter with a few stories about his quirks and style. We all stood and remembered Peter was a toast of the traditional Green Chartreuse.
Peter Manners spoke to his concept and presentation of Christmas in July pointing out that the Society had no “real” December party so he decided to turn it on in July. Apparently, Christmas ingredients such as turkey are difficult to find in July in Sydney.
A fine lunch experience with the combination of our cooking team and fond memories ofPeter Madden.
3 July 2018 - CoTD Paul Kuipers and Exec Chef John "Goldy" Goldsbrough
In what has become an annual extravaganza, Goldy and Paul Kuipers from Courtney’s Brasserie presented a meal to some 65 of us today. Goldy had commissioned a caricaturist, Paul Biddle, to draw him and Paul for our amusement. Paul must have been well paid as Goldy had lost a few years!
Canapés. Paul provided two canapés for us today. The first was venison sausage sliced and topped with pan fried and caramelised eschalot. Extraordinarily tasty. Next came a chicken pate on a toast with field mushrooms topping. The toast had been kept crisp on its trip from Parramatta to the restaurant and the field mushrooms had that natural just picked and cooked look about them. Both canapés were enjoyable.
Aperitif wine. The main aperitif wine today was the Richmond Grove Riesling 2008, under screwcap. It was in excellent shape with some toast and honey overtones. A very good if not great Australian style Riesling.
Main Course. As can be seen from the photographs above, Goldy is parading the piece de resistance, a salmon coulibiac. Coulibiac is the French adaptation of a traditional Russian dish, kulebiaka, wherein a flavourful mixture of salmon, rice, mushrooms, shallots, hard-boiled eggs and dill are baked inside a pastry crust. It looked stunning and the detail and the work involved must have be substantial.
The slices of the pie were served on Paris mash peas with a fennel marmalade on the side. The rice surrounding the salmon is used to soften the dish, prevent overheating and absorb moisture. The salmon had been cured before cooking.
A wonderful main from a true professional.
The Wines.
- Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2010
- Burton Cabernet 2008
- Elderton Shiraz 2004
- Rutherglen Estates Sparkling Shiraz 2012
The matches to the main today took a safe course between a richer style Chardonnay and an aged Coonawarra Cabernet. The Craggy Range 2010 Chardonnay was in the rich southern hemisphere style and many preferred it with the salmon. I’m not so sure of that, preferring the Burton 2004, which was a soft medium bodied Cabernet drinking beautifully.
An interesting comparison of two reds with the excellent cheese today. The Elderton Barossa Valley 2004 Shiraz was rich but not inelegant. 2004 was a good vintage in the Barossa and this was an unexpected (for me) success. Goldy was keen on having a Durif style sparkling with the cheese and thanks to the generosity of James Hill who donated the sparkling Shiraz Durif blend, we had that.
Thanks to member Charles “Chilly” Hargrave for presenting the wines on the day.
Cheese and coffee. Cheese today was the blue d’Affinois and it was in beautiful condition. The cheese was accompanied by raisin and walnut bread with truffle butter and the match worked extraordinarily well.
We also enjoyed a Muscat donated by David Gregory, who noted that it had a base material age of some 90 years.
Spencer Ferrier provided us with (in his words) ‘the best commercial coffee in the world’, Illy espresso. A richer and fuller style, it is always enjoyable.
After Paul had spoken about his lunch. Goldy thanked Paul for 15 years of friendship and once again going out of his way to cook for us in the city. Goldy is well known at Courtney’s Brasserie and is likely that a Society lunch or dinner will be organised soon at the Parramatta location.
A memorable lunch and one that we hope can be repeated by this duo in 2019.
PS: a note re Spencer's picture above. No there was no accident, no drama and definately no alcohol. Spencer was simply scouring the wine refigerator for a tea for Walter Edwards.
26 June 2018 - CoTD Josef Condrau
For our first winter wine lunch Josef Condrau was rattling the pans. He was assisted by Denis Redfern on the canapés and the main.
Canapés. I did not get to try either of the canapés so a description will have two suffice. The first was salmon roe (from Tasmania and Yarra Valley) on blinis with crème fraiche. This was followed by wild boar rillette and chicken paté both on sourdough bread with gherkin on top. I must say that the boar and chicken pate looked wonderful as it was being prepared, but after that our paths did not cross. Commentary after the lunch supported this inkling.
Aperitif wine. The aperitif wine today was the Tyrrells Belford Chardonnay 2012. Many in the room knew the history of the Belford Vineyard with fruit being grown by Elliott’s in the early days. This wine under screwcap was in excellent condition with the 9 months it spent in oak not overpowering the fruit. It was well balanced and classy drinking.
Main Course. The day was cold and a perfect day for a rack of lamb that had been frenched and then baked with garlic, fresh mint and Dijon mustard. The image above does not show it properly but the lamb was tenderly cooked with the centre of the jewel of meat just beyond the rare stage. The meat was tender, succulent and a joy. Some commentators spoke about the love of the dish but would have liked a little more to further extend the pleasure. The protein was served with witlof braised in port with sliced mushrooms and polenta sticks (the polenta was done with parmesan and then reheated in the oven).
A satisfying meal leaving everybody I spoke to wanting more. Literally.
The Wines.
- Chateau Pontensac 1995
- Clos du Marquis 2000
- Chateau Villa Bel Air 2008
- Huntington Special Reserve FB20 Cabernet 2002
- Orlando/Jacobs Creek St Hugo Cabernet 2002
- Grant Burge Shadrack Cabernet 2002
The theme of this first winter wine lunch was a comparison of Left Bank Bordeaux with Australian Cabernets.
The Pontensac had leathery dry characteristics but was clean. The comments tended to the view that it was starting to dry out and would have been better a few years ago. However, there are those in the room who prefer this older dryer style and never the twain shall meet. The Clos du Marquis , a high-end cru bourgeois, was from the wonderful 2000 vintage in St Julien. Still a dense, the wine is beginning to soften and whilst drinking well will go on for many years. There was a bit of a showdown over this wine and whether in fact it was the famed super-second growth of Leoville Las Cases or whether it was often thought to be that. Some excitement was caused with raised voices. No names, no injuries. The final French wine from Villa Bel Air was obviously the youngest, but also the lightest and an earlier drinking style. A very good Medoc. All three wines had a significant Cabernet content, but in each it was pipped by the Merlot content.
There was a chasm to cross going on to the three Australian wines with the immediate sweetness being overwhelming. The Huntington wine was the driest of the trio and some felt that it was beginning to dry out a little. However, there was a certain elegance about it. The St Hugo was a little lighter than expected with fine tannins and a wonderful mouthfeel and long finish. For some this was the wine of the day. The Shadrack was a Barossa sweetie. It was holding its age well and was still a substantial wine, although not particularly well-balanced and not well particularly liked by the room. An interesting and diverse range of six wines.
Cheese and coffee. Cheese today by Gary Linnane was Gruyère always a firm favourite of many of us. The image above shows the chunk we had from the 32 kg wheel. It was sweet, creamy with just a touch of saltiness that makes this cheese so eatable. The cheese was served with dates and Nashi pears. The bread was of course Iggys.
Coffee from Spencer Ferrier (in absentia) today was a blend of Colombian and Mexican peaberry beans and was presented by James Hill. Spencer had used the full body of the Colombian to offset the more acidic Mexican flavour to produce what he called ‘a good end to a wine lunch’.
Josef gave us a quick rundown of Swiss history during his description of the meal. No surprise there. An excellent meal Josef.
19 June - C0TD Leigh Hall
Leigh Hall was back in the kitchen this week after a stint in Scandinavia which resulted in the meal today. John young was assisting him in the kitchen and on canapés. Today was also a pleasant moment for the Society with Viv Thompson, the patriarch of Best’s Wines, attending as a guest and presenting a range of his wines. Thank you to Stephen O’Halloran for organising this.
Canapés. Leigh served us three canapés to start the lunch. Many of the ingredients came from the Swedish store IKEA which specialise in such fare. First off all were pickled herrings on toast followed by mustard herring on pumpernickel.
The final canapé, which I personally thought was the best, were meatballs inside a pastry cup on a layer of lingonberry and mash. Very tasty.
Aperitif wine. This being the Best’s wine day we began with two of their Rieslings from 2017. The first was the House Block Riesling which was made in a Germanic style with some 16 g/L residual sugar. Whilst this sounds like a lot sugar the acid perfectly counterbalanced that residual sweetness and worked perfectly with the canapés. A kindly reminder of its residual sugar content was that the wine was only 10% alcohol. The second Riesling was the classic black label Great Western and it was terrific. Wonderfully fresh fruit matched by an acid that whilst not searing will settle down given some time to produce a long-lived and memorable wine.
Main Course. Leigh had previously explained to us that for centuries the Portuguese purchased dried and salted fish from Norway and over time the Norwegians learned to make some Portuguese style dishes. Today we had one of these the Norwegian bacalao. The dish was made using salted cod and was served in a bouillabaisse style which included potato, onion, black olives, tomato, fish stock, garlic, capsicum, chilli and which was garnished with aioli, parsley and green beans.
There was not an abundance of fish and each plate despite using over 6 kg in its preparation. However, the flavour of the dried fish was very evident, and it made a very flavoursome dish to eat. Potato played a useful role adding to the texture of the dish.
The Wines.
- Best’s GW Dolcetto 2017
- Best’s GW Bin 1 Shiraz 2011
- Best’s GW Chardonnay 2017
- Best’s Concongella Pinot Meunier 1994
Looking at the fish main course and the wines above it would be easy to say that this was not a match made in heaven. We had the 2017 Dolcetto followed by the 2011 Bin 1. Being a firm Piedmont fan, I was pleasantly surprised by the elegant and beautifully crisp and clean young fruit on this Victorian Dolcetto. It did not have the dry finishing tannins that you would get from Italy, but it was an excellent southern style and one that we in Australia should support. Most of us know the Bin 1 Shiraz and in this case, we had the 2011 vintage which was surprisingly soft at 7 years of age. 2011 was a very difficult year for Great Western and Viv indicated during his presentation to us that he was very surprised that this wine picked up the Jimmy Watson trophy in 2012. It is a very good wine.
With the cheese we had a fascinating combination of the 2011 Great Western Chardonnay followed by the 1994 Old Vine Pinot Meunier. My initial thought was that the 1994 wine may be tired but I was proved wrong. Starting with the Chardonnay at 7 years of age it was showing that age and whilst drinking well lacked a little bit of interest. The Pinot Meunier on the other hand was in fabulous condition and interestingly of the 6 bottles opened under cork there was little variation. A great variety that is well known in champagne as a minor component does particularly well in the Best’s vineyards and was a delight to try today.
Cheese and coffee. Cheese today from our acting Cheesemaster Gary Linnane was another local cheese in Jensen’s Red Washed Rind from Tarago River in Victoria. At room temperature the cheese was soft to the touch with an orange, stinky-aromatic rind. The texture of the interior was soft and supple with a well-balanced creamy full rounded flavour on the palate.
Coffee from Spencer Ferrier today was Sumatra Aceh Gayo. It is an Arabica bean and was a heavier but smooth style.
Leigh spoke to the easy working relationship that he had with the chef at the Royal Exchange, Leo, and explained at some length the basis of the food and his learnings over a number of weeks in Scandinavia.
Viv Thompson was a guest of member Stephen O’Halloran today and in a very sprightly way gave us a history of Best’s over at some 150 years of operation. He spoke to the climate of Great Western changing to a warmer climate in recent years and the still unknown background of why Pinot Meunier out was originally planted . His assumption was that it was grown to make Australian sparkling wine in the Champagne style.
Viv and Leigh were thanked for their contributions to another well attended and enjoyable meal on this cold and rainy Sydney day..